The blue is back in Formula 1 Giovinazzi at Haas in free practice

“It’s the best way to get ready for the future”

The character

A brushstroke of blue (or rather, two) in a Formula 1 that this year has stopped speaking Italian: the return of Antonio Giovinazzi at the wheel of a single-seater is a reality, even if he will only drive it for the time of a free practice session, before in Monza and then in Austin.

It was Haas that made official the presence of the Apulian driver in his car during the Fp1 of the two grand prix, with Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher who will leave their seats once each. After Alfa Romeo had preferred Zhou Guanyu to him, Giovinazzi remained at the window. For him the debut in FormulaE with little satisfaction and the role of reserve driver for Ferrari in F1. An important job, but behind the scenes and the screens of the simulator, quite another thing for those used to the adrenaline of the races and the warmth of the public.

However, his patience was rewarded and, logically, he could only say that he was “very happy” and “so happy to be able to ride again in the official sessions”. Also because the hope is that fate will give him another chance to re-emerge in that world of which he was a permanent part from 2019 to 2022. “I can’t wait to get my suit and helmet back on – he continued -. It will be an opportunity to become familiar with the new generation cars, it is the best way to be ready if I have to be called as a reserve driver ».

Or maybe something more. In just over 30 years, Italians have gone from being like parsley in the paddock to endangered species. If in 1990 there were even 15 drivers who took part in the championship (even if not all of them had managed to qualify for at least one race), in the space of a few years the number of tricolor passports decreased rapidly. With the arrival of the new millennium, the couple Fisichella-Trulli (joined by Liuzzi) remained to keep Italy in the Circus. It was the two of them who got the latest victories: Jarno did it in 2004 in Monte Carlo, Giancarlo in 2005 in Australia and the following year in Malaysia. In 2012, the darkest year, not even an Italian behind the wheel, as had not happened since 1970. It was Giovinazzi who interrupted that void in 2017 and in a little while two weeks, in Monza, he will do it again. On the home track, where the most famous variant is dedicated to Alberto Ascari, the only Italian F1 driver after Nino Farina.

Let’s talk about the 50s, a lifetime ago. Antonio will put back at least one foot in the top flight, hoping that the future will smile at him and that he will not be alone. –

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